Jack.



J. M. MEYERS.

' JACK.

APPLICATION FILED FEEL-1.1917- atented Nov. 26, 1918.

FIG-.1

J. M. MEYERS JACK.

APPLICATION F'ILED FEB. 1, I917. 1,286,051.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- \xmsism JOHN MAX MEYERS, OF WEST CHESTER,PENNSYLVANIA.

JACK.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 26, 1918.

Application filed February 1, 1917. Serial No. 145,907.

T all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN Max MEYERS, a citizen'of the United States, anda resident of Vest Chester, in the county of Chester and State ofPennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Jacks, of

- which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to fluid pressure jacking mechanism, particularlyto improvements in jacking mechanism of the type described in myco-pending application, Serial No. 763,132 filed April 23, 1913, inwhich the piston or plunger is hollow and serves as a container forliquefied gas or other suitable pressure fluid and which fluid can beconducted from the interior of the piston to a chamber between the basethereof and the inner surface of the shell, to actuate the piston.

One object of the invention is to provide a fluid pressure jackingmechanism with a lifting foot connected to the piston or plunger andadjustable vertically thereon by a simple; manual 0 eration, so that thejack can be readily ad usted to engage objects at differentheights,without wasting any pressure fluid because of the necessity 'of raisingthe piston to the point at which a fixed lifting foot would engage theobject to be raised. Another object is to provide means which positivelylimits the movement of the piston in the. shell or casing and therebyobviate the danger of the piston being blown out in case the load isremoved before the pressure is released, or by the admission of toogreat a head of pressure to the chamber beneath the piston. A furtherobject is to provide means whereby pressure is permitted to leak fromthe chamber beneath the piston when the piston has reached the limit ofits movement, but which permits leakage I I in no other position of thepiston, and to provide a dust roof engagement between .the piston and sell or casing without the necessity of such a close fit between the sameas to prevent gases from escaping under certain conditions between thepiston and shell of the jack. Still further objects of the invention areto provide a base so secured to the shell or casing that it maybereadily removed and the lower packing ring renewed, or the piston withofthe piston the shell, and to provide a drawn from handle on the jack soconstructed as to conplunger annular tain the key for actuating thevalves and which handle is furnished with means for securing the key tothe handle and in position therein.

The invention comprises the construction and arrangement of partshereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 1s a central vertical sectionthrough a lifting jack embodying the invention; Fig. '2 is a horizontalsection through the head of the piston on the line 22, Fig. 1,illustrating the position and construction of the pressure regulatingand safety valves Fig.'3 is ahorizontal section on the line 3 3, Fig. 1;Fig. 4 is an elevation of the rack bar; Fig 5 is a side elevation of thelifting foot; and Fig. 6 is a bottom plan view thereof.

The invention is illustrated as a lifting jack and comprises a suitablecasing or shell 1 open at both ends and provided with a foot 2 having avscrew threaded connection 3 with the lower. end of said casing. Slidablein the casing is the piston or plunger 4 provided with a chamber 5 forcontaining compressed gas, which is preferably liquefied carbonic acidgas or compressed air. This piston or is moved vertically by admittingpressure fluid from its chamber 5 to a chamber underneath said piston orplunger through a pipe 6 which at its upper end extends into the head 7of the piston or plunger and communicates with the controlling valveshereinafter described, and at its lower end extends through the bottom 8of said piston or plunger. The under surface of this bottom 8 ispreferably dished or concaved to provide a chamber 9 in which thepressure fluid may expand and start the upward movement of the piston.The piston or plunger at its lower end is enlarged to provide an annularshoulder 10 and is provided immediately beneath said annular shoulder.has its bore enlarged, so as to provide an annular space '12 betweenthe piston or plunger and the casing walls. This enlarged portion at itsupper end terminates in an shoulder 13- against which the shoulder 1.0of the piston abuts when the latter is fully elevated. These abuttingshoulders therefore provide positive means for preventing the pistonfrom being blown out of the casing such as might occur in case'the loadis removed without releasing the pressure from underneath the piston orin case the actuating fluid is admitted underneath the piston at toohigh a pressure head.

The bore of the upper portion'of the casing has a fairly close fit withthe piston or plunger, so as to provide an effective guide for thelatter, and a sufiicient area of contact 0 to insure stability ofsupport for the piston and reduce wear to a minimum.

In order to provide a safety device and prevent too great anaccumulation of pressure underneath the piston and too hard a hammerblow of the annular shoulder of the piston on the annular shoulder 13 ofthe casing,

wall face immediately below the annular shoulder 13 with' one or morevertical grooves 14:, which are of such length that when the piston isentirely lifted the lower ends of these grooves project below the packing ring 11 so that the pressure underneath the plston can slowlyescape. Such pressure can flow between the wall of the upper portion ofthe casing and the piston or plunger, but to insure its more rapidescape one or more vertical grooves 15 are formed in the walls of thebore of the casing, extending from the annular shoulder 13 to the top ofthe casing. Such grooves permit the rapid escape of any compressed fluidwhich may escape around the piston ring 11, and at the same time permitsuch a close fit of the piston or plunger in the upper portion of thebore of the casing as to form a stable support for the piston orplunger: In order to prevent the entrance of grit or dirt into theinterior of the shell, an annular packing ring 16 of felt or similarmaterial is placed in an annular groove formed around the bore of thecasing at the upper end thereof. This packing ring is suflicientlyporous to permit the escape of. pressure fluid, but sufficiently denseto through the same.

On the outer face of the shell at one side and extending from theenlarged lower portion of the casing to its upper end is a guide bar 17,which is rigidly secured to the shell, such as by spot-welding, andwhich preferably in cross section is dove-tailed, asshown in Fig. 3.Slidably engaging this guide bar is the rack bar 18, which has aninwardly projecting dove-tailed portion 19 fitting the "dove-tailedguide bar and slidable thereon. This rack bar at its upper end isprovided with a right angled portion 20 engaging in a socket 21 in thepiston head 7, and being secured thereto, such as by pin 22. The rackbar is provided with a vertical series of sockets 23 which slopedownwardly and inwardly, as shown in Fig. 1, for the purpose ofadjustably $5 The latter is provided with rearwardly and the latter isprovided in its inner prevent the entrance of dirt or grit supportingthe lifting foot 2%."

inwardly projecting wings 25 which engage around the edges of the rackbar and behind the same, as shown in Fig. 3, but sufficiently loosely sothat said foot can be IIlOVd up and down and also slightly tilted on therack bar. This foot is provided with a downwardly sloping pinv 26arranged to enter the sockets 23. The inner face of the vertical portionof the foot at its upper end is beveled off, as at 28, so that when thefoot is lifted at its-outer endv it rotates as a whole around ahorizontal axis so as to withdraw the locking pin 26 from the socket 23,and in this position the foot can be either lowered or lifted, but assoon as released the outer or free end of the foot automatically dropsto a position perpendicular to the rack bar, thereby rotating the footbodily about the horizontal axis above referred to and causing thelocking pin 26 to enter into the next lowersocket 23. This constructionpermits of the ready vertical adjustment of the foot so that it can bebrought to the desired height toimmediately engage underneath the objectto be lifted, and prevent the waste of fluid pressure, and the lostmotion necessary to lift objects of different height with a jack havinga fixed foot.

The inner end of the locking pin 26 is beveled, as shown in. Fig. 1, soas to get the maximum support in the sockets 23 and also permit theguiding pin to slide past the sockets when lifting or lowerin said foot.The lower end of the rack bar 1s provided with a stop pin 29 to preventthe foot from falling offthe rack bar.

The head 7 of the piston is provided with three ports, to wit, ports 30and 31 communicating with the chamber 5 in the piston,

and port 32 communicating with the pipe 6 extending down through thelower end of the piston. The ports 30 and 32 are controlled by thepressure application and release valve.33, and the port 31 is controlledby the safety and charging valve 34. These valves are disposed in thesame horizontal plane, in bores in the piston head, and have theirbodies threaded to engage threads cut in the walls of said bores, andeach is provided with a stem 35 whose outer end is formed to be engagedby a suitable Wrench or key. The bodies of these valves outside of thethreaded portion are reduced, and

surrounding the reduced portions are p'ack ing sleeves 36. The bodies ofboth of these valves are provided with transverse passages 37communicating with central cavities 38, and their stems are also hollowto form an outlet from said cavities 38. The

screw threaded portions of said bodies are provided with longitudinalgrooves or the like, 39, to permit the escape of fluid pres-- sure fromthe inner ends of said valves to the transverse passages .37 and thenout through the hollow stems.

The pressure application and release valve 33 carries a disk 40cotiperating with a seatin which is formed a port 41 leading to the port30. The inner end of the bore in which this valve works communicatesthrough a short'passage 42 with the central port 32. The inner end ofthe bore through the stem of this valve is provided with a conical seatwith which coiiperates a conical plug valve 43 normally held to its seatby sprlng 44, and which valve is secured to a stem 45 which extends outthrough the hollow of the valve stem and slightly beyond the same. Thisstem 45 is provided with a groove 46, or is flattened, to allow for theescape of fluid pressure therethrough.

The valve 34 carries a disk 47 cooperating with a seat provided with aport 48 leading to the port 31. This disk 47 is provided with a centralopening therethrough, and between said disk and the cavity 38 is a asafety member shown as a diaphragm 49 formed of thin metal or othermaterial and chosen of such strength that it will break if the pressurein the chamber 5 of the piston exceeds a predetermined amount.

The chamber 5 in the piston is charged with the pressure fluid throughthe valve 34, by screwing into the threaded end 51 of the stem of saidvalve a hose connected to a suitable source of fluid pressure. Thisconnection can also be used for inflating tires or the like with thepressure fluid contained in the piston; When charging the piston thevalve is slightly unscrewed so as to lift the disk 47 from its seat,whereupon pressure fluid will enter through the hollow stem of the valveto the central cavity 38 and thence through transverse passage 37 andlongitudinal grooves 39 and through ports 48 and 31 to the chamber 5.When the chamber is fully charged the valve is screwed inwardly so as toclose the port 48. Should the pressure be too high the diaphragm 49 willbreak and thus prevent inury to the jack.

When the jack is to be used the valve 33 is screwed outwardly so as tolift the-disk 40 from its seat and uncover port 41, whereupon pressurefluid will flow from chamber 5 through ports 30 and 41 and thencethrough port 42 to the pipe 6 to the chamber ,9 underneath the piston,thereby lifting the sure from chamber 9 is released by merely inwardlyon the stem 45, thus un--" pressing seating the valve 43, whereupon thefluid pressure will escape from chamber 9 through pipe 6 to port 32,thence through passage 42 and grooves 39 to the transverse passage 37.and out through the groove 46 in stem 45.

The jack therefore is actuated by merely unscrewing valve 33 and as soonas sufficiently lifted said valve is closed, and is released by merelypressing inwardly on stem 45.

The valve mechanism illustrated and described, is not claimed herein,but is claimed in my companion application of even date herewith,Serial. No. 145,906.

The jack is provided with a handle 52 suitably secured to the casing bywelding or other suitable means. This handle is hollow and serves as acontainer for the wrench or key 53, which is secured to the handle bymeans of chain 54, and when not in use is held in position in the handleby means of the spring clip 55. This simple means prevents loss of thekey and insures that it is to .be lifted without material loss ofmotion.

The fluid pressure is then admitted underneath the piston to raise theplunger to the desired height, and the jack will remain almostindefinitely in this raised position; Should the load he suddenlyreleased, or should fluid pressure be admitted underneath the pistonlonger than is necessary, the upward movement of the piston will bearrested by contact of shoulder 10 thereon with the shoulder 13 in thecasing, and when this occurs the pressure in the chamber underneath thepiston will slowly escape through the grooves 14.

The foot 2 can be readily removed. from the casing so as to permitaccess to the packing ring 11 for repair or lubrication, and the pistonas a whole can also be readily revmoved from the casing for cleaning orre lease of the load without first releasing pressure from underneaththe piston, as the relief passages 14 will take care of this.

The construction as a whole is simple and the parts are durable, and allparts are read ily accessible for cleaningor repair.

The jacking mechanism described can be used in a horizontal as well as avertical position and is adapted to a variety of purposes.

What I claim is 1. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing,a fluid actuated lifting member movable therein, a" guide on the outsideof the casing, and a lifting bar actuated by said lifting member andextending downwardly and slidably engaging said guide.

2. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a fluidactuated lifting member movable therein, a guide on the outside of thecasing, and a lifting bar having an interlocking sliding engagement withsaid guide and being connected to said lifting member.

3. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a piston insaid casing and projecting beyond the same, a guide on the outside ofthe casing, a bar slidably engaging said guide and attached to theprojecting end of the piston, and a lifting foot adjusta-bly secured tosaid bar.-

4. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a fluidactuated lifting member movable therein, a rack bar secured to saidlifting member and projecting downwardly outside of the casing, and alifting foot having an interlocking sliding connection with said rackbar and having a projection arranged to engage said rack bar, saidlifting foot being cut away at its upper extremity to permit rotation ona" horizontal axis relative to the bar to disengage its projection fromsaid bar.

5. Jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a fluid actuated pistontherein and projecting outside the same, a bar secured to the projectingend of the pistonand lying adjacent the outside of the casing andprovided with inclined sockets, a lifting foot having an interlockingslidable connection with said bar and being cut away at its upperextremity to permit rotation on a horizontal axis relative to the bar,and an inclined projection on said lifting foot arranged when said footis perpendicular to the bar to enter a socket therein and to bewithdrawn from said socket upon rotation of said foot.

6. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a pistonarranged to be actuated by pressure in said casing, means for limitingthe outward movement of said piston in said casing, and means permittingleakage of pressure past said piston when it has reached the limlt ofits outward movement.

7. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism com-o prising a casing, a pistonarranged to be actuated by pressure in said casing, cooperatingshoulders in said casing and on said piston for limiting the outwardmovement of said piston, and a groove in the casing wall for permittingleakage of pressure past said piston when it has reached the limit ofits outward movement.

8. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing enlarged indiameter for a portion of its height from its bottom up: wardly andthereby providing an internal manner shoulder, a piston arranged to beactuatedby pressure in said casingand provided with a shoulder arrangedto abut the shoulder in said casing to limit" the outward movement ofsaid piston, and a groove in the Wall ofsaid casing adjacent to theshoulder therein and arranged to permit leakage of ressure past saidpiston when it has reached t e limit of its out-ward movement.

9. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing open at, oneend, a piston arranged to be actuated by pressure in said casing, saidpiston providing a reservoir for pressure fluid, and a. footremovablyclosing the lower end of said casing and when removed permitting thewithdrawal of the piston from said casing.

l0. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing open at itsupper end and enlarged in diameter for a portion of'its height from itsbottom upwardly, thereby providing an internal shoulder, a piston insaid casing arranged to be actuated by fluid pressure and provided witha shoulder arranged to abut the shoulderin said casing, said pistonproyiding a reservoir for pressure fluid, and a foot removably closingthe lower end of said casing and when removed permitting the withdrawalof said piston therefrom.

11. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a pistonmovable therein and projecting beyond one end thereofand providing areservoir for pressure fluid, a

lifting bar detachably connected to said projecting end of the piston,and a foot removably closing the opposite end of said casing and whenemoved permitting the withdrawal of the piston therefrom.

12. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing enlarged indiameter for a portion of its height from its lower end upwardly,thereby providing an internal shoulder, a piston arranged to be actuatedby pressure in said casing and provided with a shoulder arranged to abutthe shoulder in said casing and projecting above the casing, said pistonproviding a reservoir for pressure fluid, a lifting bar removablyattached to'the projecting end of said piston, and a foot removablyclosing the lower end of said casing and when removed permitting, thewithdrawal of the piston therefrom.

13. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a pistonmovable there in and providing a reservolr for pressure fluid, saidpiston projecting beyond said casing, and a, lifting member connected tothe projectin 'end. of said piston andad ustable vertically relativethereto.

14. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing closed at oneend, a piston movable therein and' pro ecting beyond the open end ofsaid casing, said piston being provided with a reservoir for pressurefluid, a bar secured to said projectin end of said piston and lyingoutside of sai casing and parallel thereto, and a lifting footadjustable longitudinally on said bar.

15. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing closed at oneend. a piston movable in said casing and projecting beyond the open endthereof, said piston being provided with a reservoir for pressure fluid,and cooperating shoulders in said casing and on said piston for limitingthe outward movement of the latter.

16. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing closed at oneend, apiston movable therein and projecting beyond,

the open end thereof, said piston being provided with a reservoir forpressure fluid,-

and a groove in the wall of the casing arranged to allow the escape ofpressure fluid around said.piston when it has reached the limit of itsoutward movement.

17. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing closed at oneend, a piston movable in said casing and projecting beyond the open endthereof, said piston being provided with a reservoir for pressure fluid.cooperating shoulders in said casing and on said piston to limit theoutward movement of the piston, and a groove in the wall of said casingarranged to permit the escape of fluid pressure around said piston whenit has reached the limit of its outward movement. I

18. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing closed at oneend, a piston movable therein and provided with a reservoir for pressurefluid, valve mechanism arranged to admit pressure fluid from saidchamber in the piston to a chamber underneath the piston, a key foractuating said valve mechanism, and a hollow handle on said casingarranged to receive said key.

19. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a pistonmovable therein and provided with a reservoir for pressure fluid, valvemechanism arranged to admit pressure fluid from said chamber in thepiston to a chamber underneath the piston, a key for actuating saidvalve mechanism, a hollow handle on said casing arranged to receive saidkey, and means for securing said key in said hollow handle.

20. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, a pistonmovable therein and provided with a reservoir for pressure fluid, valvemechanism arranged to admit pressure fluid from said chamber in thepiston to a chamber underneath the piston, a key for actuating saidvalve mechanism, a hollow handle on said casing arranged to receive saidkey, and a spring member .arranged to engage said key when in saidhollow handle.

21. Fluid pressure jacking mechanism comprising a casing, and a pistontherein forming a container for the pressure fluid, said piston having atubular stem extending from the outer head thereof through said pistonand into open relation with the interior of the casing and havingcommunication with a valve chamber in the outer piston head, acommunication between said valve chamber and the interior of said pis-'ton, a valve bore connecting said valve chamber with the exterior ofsaid piston, a hollow valve stem within said bore carrying a valve diskworking within the valve chamber to close communication to the interiorof the piston, a release valve for closing the opening of the hollowvalve stem at the interior end thereof, and means within the stem forunseating said release valve.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand.

JOHN MAX MEYERS. Witnesses ELBER'I L. HYDE, SUE B. FRITZ.

